Have you suffered a personal injury? The following is a guide to help you easily figure out how much your case is worth, by using our free pain and suffering calculator.
This formula is 100% accurate and can help you receive the maximum settlement against the fault party. Our guide contains legal topics to help you with every aspect of your car accident or personal injury law.
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Table of contents
Pain And Suffering Settlement Amount Calculator
Multiply pain and suffering X medical expenses + loss of income = Injury settlement
The settlement formula can be broken down as follows:
- Medical Expenses: The medical expenses include physical therapy, prescription drugs, braces, walkers, wheelchairs, chiropractic, orthopedic care or other medical treatment, surgery, hospital visits, x-rays, lab tests, ambulances, and so forth.
- Lost Income: Add up the amount of money you lost from missing work due to your injury. This includes missing out on a potential job opportunity, such as a job interview, or freelance work.
- Pain and Suffering Multiplier: The typical range of the multiplier is generally between 1.5 and 5, and includes emotional distress and inconvenience.
Personal Injury Settlement Calculator Example
Your minor personal injury resulted in $2,000 in medical expenses, and you were off two days from work costing you $300.00.
Using the personal injury calculator, your claim is estimated to be in the range of $3,450.00 to $11,500.00.
- Claims Amount = $2,000 + $300 X [1.5 to 5%]
For a serious debilitating injury, like a disfigurement or brain damage, your claim is estimated to be in the range of $11,500.00 to $23,000.00. - Claims Amount = $2,000 + $300 X [5 to 10%]
Current pain and suffering is the time period from the time of your injury, to the completion of all your medical treatment. Future pain and suffering are more broad, as the exact time frame is unknown.
Your injury may cause you to endure both physical pain and discomfort, and emotional pain, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, memory loss, or insomnia.
The above settlement calculator should be used for more minor injuries to calculate a dollar amount. If you suffered a catastrophic brain injury, wrongful death, or another serious injury, or were permanently disabled, then you should not use this injury settlement calculator.
Instead, you should seek counsel with a personal injury lawyer to accurately determine the value of your case and calculate the correct insurance settlement.
Be aware that even though you can do your own calculations, only an experienced, competent lawyer can help you get the highest settlement possible for a serious injury.
Insurance adjusters use personal injury settlement calculators to determine how much you will be compensated for the medical expenses, devastating pain and suffering, emotional distress like mental anguish and loss of income relating to your car accident case, or another accident claim.
But remember that insurance companies will do everything possible to limit your settlement; their bottom line is profit, not giving you a fair settlement to compensate you for the heartbreaking suffering and intense pain you have experienced. Your attorney will be an advocate and look out for your interests.
Slip and Fall And Other Kinds Of Injuries
Insurance settlements are given out for various kinds of injuries:
- Medical malpractice cases
- Wrongful death
- Truck Accidents
- Car accidents
- Hit by drunk driver
- Nursing home abuse
- Dog bite attacks
- Slip and falls
- Work injury or other kinds of serious injury
Awards For Personal Injury Settlements
Typically in a court, the judge and jury look closely at medical bills to determine the amount awarded for general damages.
Obviously, if a claim involves a vehicle, the car insurance company would pay damages, and you would be wise to seek an experienced car accident attorney.
If you were injured on the job, workers’ compensation would pay pain and suffering damages however, workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering. Workers’ compensation would only pay for lost income and medical treatment to the injury victims. As a consequence, the insurance claim settlements for personal injury are generally higher than for work injuries.
Calculating Your Settlement
When calculating a dollar value in your personal injury claim, be sure to include:
- Medical cost, therapy, and prescription receipts also future medical expenses
- Out-of-pocket expenses such as rental car payments
- Lost earnings (current and future)
- Property damage, such as to your car or truck.
Insurance companies use a multiplier range to calculate your personal injury lawsuit, but the settlement calculator does not provide the exact amount your accident claim is worth. The pain and suffering calculator will give you an estimate and a range that your possible injury settlement will fall in.
This injury settlement calculator multiplies your pain and suffering anywhere from 1 to 5 times, and even higher in serious injury cases. The multiple can be adjusted up or down depending on the severity and length of time your discomfort continues.
The Multiplier Method Rule Of Thumb
The multiplier for your auto accident settlement formula for minor injuries, such as sprains or whiplash is usually to multiply by 1½ to 3 times the amount of medical bills. The multiplier for more serious injuries, such as broken bones or herniated disks, is 3 to 5 times the amount of medical bills.
These types of damages with severe or disabling permanent injuries, such as a traumatic loss of vision, brain injury, or debilitating loss of mobility, are usually multiplied by 5 times; however, an automobile accident or serious injury that tragically leaves you in a wheelchair, or with disfiguring scars, or even the death of a loved one, maybe multiplied by up to 10 times.
To receive the maximum amount of insurance settlement from the car accident insurance or other insurance carriers, it is beneficial to seek guidance from a dependable personal injury attorney.
Non-Economic Damages
Any kind of motor vehicle accident is likely to be a physically and emotionally traumatic experience. The potential devastation caused by a truck accident can be very traumatic indeed. Non-economic settlements, unlike special damages or economic damages due to loss of wages or income, look to compensate the victim accidents for the pain and suffering they have experienced from the accident. Victims are also compensated for any loss of enjoyment in life, for example, the loss of consortium. This will include no longer being able to take part in their favorite activities due to injuries and/or emotional trauma.
Factors That Can Diminish Your Claim
Traffic tickets can affect your claim, and if the insurance company determined that you were partially at fault for the car accident, then the settlement value could be worthless. If you were not at fault and depending on your attorney’s settlement negotiations, you might possibly get the full settlement.
If the driver who caused the accident was driving under the influence, then he or she would need a criminal defense attorney, as they might be fully held liable for causing the car accident.
1. Amount Of Pain And Suffering
The injury may also result in limiting your normal activities, especially if you are disabled. You may not be able to take care of your household responsibilities, such as cooking and cleaning or pursue hobbies like gardening or bicycling, caring for your children, or having intimate relations with your spouse. Take time daily and list the way your injuries have affected both your lifestyle and emotional well-being, along with the hardships you have encountered.
To best gauge the pain and suffering you have experienced from your accident claim, keep a daily pain log and list the problems described above; this will help accurately describe your discomfort and maximize your injury settlement.
For example, if you received injections, physical therapy, or had surgery, consider the enjoyment in your life before the accident, and then measure the toll on your life from stress and problems related to your injury and treatment.
Before the accident, did you exercise regularly or play ball and have fun with your children? During treatment did your pain make you miss important family time or other activities? Make sure you document this lost time, including ball games, concerts, birthday celebrations, and graduations.
2. Emotional Distress
Did the change in lifestyle trigger disturbing depression or anxiety? If you have never experienced depression before, many describe it as feeling despondent, as if a black cloud were hanging over your head. Sometimes, if the injury is taking a long time to heal, you may feel hopeless, that you will never get better. Examine the differences in your lifestyle to determine the negative impact of your personal injury case.
If you have had emotional distress and sought counseling or treatment from a psychologist or psychiatrist, be sure and keep medical bills, prescription receipts, and records detailing your emotional state.
It is important to be as genuine and honest as possible, even though it can be difficult to reveal private, personal information, There is no point in exaggerating your problems, as this can diminish your credibility and actually negatively affect your claim worth.
It is pretty simple to add up your actual costs; however, calculating pain, to sum up, your pain and suffering can be quite a challenge. The longer you estimate your pain and suffering to continue, the higher your claim will be worth. An attorney can help you effectively and reasonably convey the huge impact the pain and suffering from your injury has had on your life.
The lawyer will also advise not taking the first offer, since settlements are based on subjective figures, and can be negotiated. In the event of a large settlement, you might be advised to seek financial advice to best manage your settlement, including estate planning.
3. Medical Malpractice
If you feel you have a medical malpractice case, it would be wise to seek advice from a lawyer.
Some of the main types of medical malpractice are:
- Misdiagnosis
- Surgical or prescription mistakes
- Negligence
Some of the most commonly misdiagnosed diseases are heart attacks and blood clots, infections or tumors. Misdiagnosis can delay treatment and can even be fatal. Mistakes are shockingly common when medication is administered, and surgical mistakes happen way too often.
Sometimes doctors operate on the wrong body part, or on the wrong injured person entirely! The same formula above can be useful in trying to calculate the value of your medical malpractice case.
Statute Of Limitations
If you have been injured in a car accident or by some other physical injuries, while you may use our simple pain and suffering calculator to have an initial estimation, however, you should seek counsel from an attorney for maximum payout and help.
Be aware there is a statute of limitations and a lawsuit must be filed within a set time limit; if you wait too long, you may not be entitled to any insurance settlement. So get your demand letter sent, and start to set up your attorney-client relationship.
Also, personal injury statutes and laws are very different from laws for worker’s compensation, and the laws vary from state to state, so be sure to seek legal advice concerning your injury. At Denmon Pearlman Personal Injury Law Firm based in Florida, we offer a free 100% Free Consultation in these types of accidents.
